This article is in partnership with Day Translations.

Inspired by a New York Times article about learning French, the topic for discussion today is whether full immersion is actually the best (or maybe more effective) way to learn a new language.

In this article, the author Jenny Gross (“reporting from the South of France”, as her byline says) shares her experience of an intensive language learning programme she attended in France to study French. A point to remember about this programme is that it is one-on-one so you get a very personalised service (which probably is very expensive).

According to forums such as Reddit, the consensus is that full immersion is the best approach to learn a new language compared to watching films and TV series, but also it is the most time-consuming and requiring the most effort from the learner.

The Galway Cultural Institute in Ireland supports immersive learning as one of the best ways to become fluent in a new language, using English as the main example because many foreign students travel to Ireland to learn English during their summer holidays. One of the main advantages of this type of learning is that it helps to build confidence compared to more traditional class-based language lessons.

Talking of Ireland, there are many language schools that offer student exchange programmes and homestays, allowing young people to get a full immersion experience in the safety of sharing a home with a local family, which gets reimbursed for hosting costs.

Going back to the original article that inspired this discussion, the writer shared that she spent time in a luxury country villa with a swimming pool in France for a week where the host was a retired French teacher. The host, based in Provence, organises a schedule that includes teaching and excursions that are tailored to individual students. For example, excursions can vary from attending a cookery lesson to visiting local museums.

The writer already had a solid grasp of the French language after having studying it for ten years, however her teacher had remarked how she had memorised some grammar rules wrong and ended up making the same mistakes over and over again. So, one of the advantages of getting one-on-one tuition was what the writer called “de-programming” as she first had to unlearn bad habits and learn new ones.

The French teacher also told the writer that it takes hard work and daily study to really become fluent in the language, so there’s not much space for “passive” learning like only listening to French content.

How Much Does a Full Immersion Home Stay Cost?

Using the example from the New York Times article and after searching for more information and reviews, France Today magazine gave a full breakdown of activities and costs to learn French in Provence, quoting 1,400 euro per person for a week’s stay (seven days at half board), but bear in mind that the price may have gone up since as the article was published in 2018.

Using Ireland as another example, homestays with a local Irish family can cost from about 250 euro a week but that does not include language tuition, which can cost about 70-80 euro an hour for one-on-one classes or about 500-600 euro a week for group classes.